


Even Death Shall Bow...

by Shipper101



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Based on season 3 spoilers as of Wanheda part 1, F/F, F/M, Will almost certainly become AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2018-05-15 19:20:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5796766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shipper101/pseuds/Shipper101
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the mountain, Clarke Griffin is hollowed out. After her time with Niylah, her mind is more focussed than ever. She has already sacrificed her soul. Now she will make it worth something</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wanheda

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, basically, this is not a shipping fic. It is about badasses being badass (i.e. everyone in the 100), and what Clarke could become if she became the thing the Grounders believe her to be.

The rain thundered down as Roan dragged the ragged and weary Clarke into the cave entrance. Her clothes were even more tattered than they had been before, and the rudimentary dye in her hair had mostly run off across her shoulders. His warpaint was smudged and running, and his hair was matted and dripping. As soon as he had pulled her inside, he moved over, checking her ties. She hadn't even attempted to escape. He looked at her, curious, and found her studying him back. Her blazing blue eyes seemed to pierce him, reading his soul and witnessing his thoughts. He frowned, but turned back to her bindings. Taking another of his ropes, he fastened her onto one of the rock structures, before securing the rope out of her arms reach. When he had completed this task, he looked back at her. She was still watching him intently. 

'So, the great Wanheda. She who commands death. Tell me then, why am I still standing?'

She shrugged, an amused, quizzical look in her eyes. She was starting to annoy him. Reaching over, he moved the gag away from her mouth. She licked her lips, and wetted the inside of her mouth, but stayed silent.

'If you insist upon silence, I'll just gag you again.'

She smiled. 

'I am no-one.'

Now it was his turn to chuckle. No-one indeed. She was the antithesis to no-one. No one but she could inspire the protection of almost everyone she met. No one but she could have unintentionally made her path so difficult to follow. No one was everyone else, who had been willing to surrender her location without a prolonged bout with his knives.

'Awful lot of people out there looking for no one'

She leaned back against the rocks, and slid to the ground. He sighed, but had other things to worry about now. Moving over, he started to replace her gag, when suddenly she spoke.

'How much is Lexa paying you?'

Roan frowned. He had never spoken of his employer. Her silence then sudden insight was making him nervous. He decided to try her knowledge.

'Heda pays me nothing. I am to take you to the Ice Queen. It is she that set the bounty on you.'

She chuckled gently. She was really starting to get under his skin.

'A man who wishes to take me to the Ice Queen does not worry when they hear I am travelling towards the Ice Nation. You should be more careful with your choice of companion. No, you are taking me to Lexa, or to one of her generals.'

She was scaring him now. However, she was looking at him questioningly. He just shrugged.

'Enough'

Moving down to replace her gag, she lay with her back against the stone, her eyes closed, her lips moving in silent thought, even as the cloth, stained red and black, moved up to cover her mouth yet again. With her silenced, he turned and started stripping off, laying his damp clothing out to dry, even as he pulled out his blankets. This, he liked. This was simple, and easy- a trained reflex, learned from long hard years of training. She... she was something else. He hoped that Heda knew what she was doing with this one.

\---

Kane and Indra moved through the outskirts of the forest. Indra moved silently, slinking over the fallen branches and sticks without making a sound. Kane was louder, but a series of secret conversations with Indra had ensured that he held at least a passable level of skill. Bellamy and Monty, however, crashed and thundered through the undergrowth, as loud, as he had been reliably informed, as an infant Pauna. His first thought had been, just how big was an infant Pauna then? However, that had been quickly replaced with a far more instant bout of dread. He could hear them now. Even over the cacophony behind them, as they stumbled out into a field, they could hear them. Indra raised her hand, fist clenched. He could hear Monty and Bellamy still. Evidently they could hear it to. 

'Do you hear that?"

'What is it?'

Kane raised his finger to his mouth, and silenced them.

'War drums'

Indra's voice was quiet, but even Kane could detect a certain amount of fear. Not a good sign, coming from Indra. 

'Whose?'

'I do not know. However, we are very near the Ice Nation border. I suspect that that may be the answer to your question.'

Kane shivered a little. If half of the things he had heard Indra say of the Ice Nation were true, their presence so far south could not be good. The field glistened with fresh rain, although the morning sun was weakly shining down now. The breeze was weak and quiet, only a light whistling as it moved across the flora. Suddenly, Indra motioned for them to get down. Bellamy and Kane dropped immediately, while Monty was a little slower, raising their weapons. Indra drew her sword and sank low, sinking into the shadows cast by the low sun. Two dark figures emerged from the treeline on the far side of the field. One was being pushed by the other. It was too far away to see clearly, so Kane reached over to Monty, gesturing for his gun. Monty quietly unlimbered it, passing it over to Kane. Raising it to his eye, Kane looked down the telescopic sight. The figures were still too far away to be clear, but one definitely had at least some blonde in her hair. It was messily streaked with red, as were her shoulders and the piece of originally white material around her mouth. The man following her was unkempt and equally ragged, but he held himself with the same bearing as Indra- he slunk along with practised ease. His face seemed smudged over the sights, and Kane had to assume that it was warpaint. Gesturing for Bellamy and Monty to stay, he started to move forwards with Indra. They were crouched low, moving under the line of sight.

As the two groups began to close, the flora started to become thinner. Kane knew that he was becoming to obvious, and, instead of moving forwards, crouched into a hollow, and looked again down the sights. The man was large- not the same size as lincoln, but wiry. He obviously knew how to handle himself. The girl was now very obvioulsy Clarke. She looked very different. She was much more upright, but more downtrodden at the same time. She seemed more confident, but at the same time her eyes were empty. There was a sudden crashing behind him, and Bellamy and Monty blundered through the undergrowth with what they obviously believed passed for stealth. Clearly, Bellamy had seen Clarke, and hadn't even thought before he came running. Kane was surprised to see Indra, Clarke and her Mysterious captor all look at them. While Kane was sufficiently well hidden, Bellamy and Monty had just blundered through. The man drew his sword, and Clarke threw herself to the side. The man started to charge through the undergrowth, only to suddenly stop, raising his sword just fast enough to parry Indra's strike. As they locked blades, Kane gestured for Bellamy and Monty to move forwards with him, cursing them silently under his breath. As they fumbled through 

the undergrowth, they reached the place that Clarke had landed. There was just a savaged rope lying where previously a full eighteen year old girl should have resided. Swearing, Kane glared at Bellamy and Monty, before gesturing for them to spread out. Abby would kill him if she found out that he had found her daughter and then lost her again. Suddenly, something collided hard with him, sending him sprawling. Leaping to his feet, he was forced to drop his gun as he caught her wrist, even as she tried to power a dagger into his neck. Before he could speak, however, her free hand slammed into his chest, sending him stumbling, releasing his grip. It was rapidly followed by a kick to the face that threw his sideways to the ground. Rolling over, he just saw her face before she drove her foot down into his solar plexus, her armoured boot sending all of the breath from his lungs. 

'Clarke!'

The assault stopped. 

'Kane?'

Kane was just about to answer when Clarke's companion returned through the flora. To Kane's surprise, Indra was walking beside him, and both were unharmed. She smiled as she saw his predicament, while the man was more focussed on Clarke's knife. He moved his hands over his person, methodically patting himself down. His hands stopped on his left calf. Raising his eyebrows, he turned to look at Indra, who just smirked.

'A new name then. Roan the Easily Robbed. That will terrify all future prey into submission'

Roan gritted his teeth, before turning back to Clarke. 

'How long have you had the knife Wanheda?'

'Long enough. You seem to have forgotten that I am left handed. Or did you not know?'

Kane frowned. Clarke's voice had a strange, singsong property to it that did not quite manage to disguise the bitterness and emptiness behind it. He was looking at a shell, rather than a person. 

Clarke's voice broke the silence

'So, who wants to take me where?'


	2. Abyss of the Soul

When Bellamy saw Clarke in person for the first time in months, she was stood facing Indra and the mysterious man that had previously been accompanying her. Bellamy gripped his weapon a little tighter at the sight of the man, but it was to Clarke that his eyes were drawn. In the morning sunshine her hair was wreathed in golden light, and the pale streaks of reddy pink were invisible beneath the blazing halo. Her clothes were ragged, and she held a dagger in her hand, but she stood tall, her chin up. 

'Clarke?'

Hearing her name being called, she turned, and Bellamy saw her eyes. While they sparked with joy at seeing him and Monty, it was but a guttering flame in a hopeless void. She was broken, and she was tired. She didn't look it, or act it, but Bellamy had seen the same look in Jasper's eyes. Only Jasper had made no attempt to hide his feelings- rather the opposite in fact, forcing them upon everyone else. Clarke gave off the aura of a soulless shell, held in check by an iron self control and discipline that spoke of a mission. She was not facing herself, as Jasper was. She was not transferring. She was just narrowing her focus. Hardening herself for some higher goal. However, he had little time to contemplate it. Clarke was moving over to Monty, who, evidently, was not studying her eyes. Grasping his shoulders, Clarke seemed surprised when she was pulled rapidly into a jubilant hug. Her arms lingered for a second, before she returned it. Releasing Monty, she turned to face Bellamy.

They simply stood there for a little while, just looking at each other. Everyone else seemed to be watching them. Kane had, with Indra's aid, pulled himself off of the ground, and now they were watching them with Clarke's captor, utterly silently. The only noise they could hear was the endless thunder of the drums in the distance. 

Bellamy took the first step. Clarke blinked, surprised at his sudden motion, but as he neared her, she stepped forward to meet him, pulling him into a tight, desperate embrace. And desperate it was. Clarke held onto him with a strength that belied her smaller statue. It was not a simple welcoming embrace. It was a hug born of desperate necessity. Ultimately releasing him, she stood just before him for a second, before composing herself and turning to face the two grounders. Suddenly Bellamy realised what had just happened. She had let down her guard. Just for a second, she had exposed the soul she was hiding so well from the man and Indra. 

'So, Roan. Where am I going? I assume that for Indra to be here, things must have escalated in Polis.'

Bellamy raised his eyebrow to Kane at this stage, who simply shrugged. Roan looked a little taken aback at her words, as was Indra. Obviously, the tensions must have been more serious than they suspected.

'Indra has told me that the Ice Queen herself is coming to Polis. She intends to claim you before then, Wanheda.'

Clarke stood there for a few seconds, processing the information. Bellamy could see her jaw working away in thought. However, it was this 'Roan' that interested him the most. On the one hand, he was obviously Clarke's elder, and her former captor. However, he clearly respected her already. Proven respect, rather than relayed. He respected her, rather than her past deeds. Kane broke the silence before he could proceed any further along that train of thought. 

'Indra, you didn't tell us that Clarke was in that much danger.'

His tone wasn't accusing, but it was a little betrayed. Indra wetted her lips before proceeding.

'That is because if Clarke is lost or killed, the Ice Queen can lay claim, however false, to her power. The commander and I need her to come to Polis for the meeting with the Ice Queen, to prove her continued life. She must be there personally, and in body. I did not tell you, because I was certain, rightly so, that you would take objection.'

Kane glared at her, but remained silent. The drums continued thundering in the distance. The low rumble was broken, however, by Clarke's laughter. Indra, Roan and Kane all looked at Clarke in surprise. Bellamy and Monty looked at each other first, before following suit.

'The mighty Commander Lexa, traitor of the mountain, needs my help again. How pleasant. Very well, I will come with you. I wouldn't want Roan to miss out on his payday.'

Bellamy, Monty and Kane all looked at each other. Clarke wished to go to Polis. To the Commander who had left her on the mountain. And she was laughing about it. If the horrible noise was really a laugh. It was utterly without mirth or joy. She truly didn't care. About returning home. About her mother. About, well, anything really. When Bellamy turned back again, Clarke was looking right at him.

'How did you get here? I assume you have transport. This is too far off the beaten track for you to have walked here.'

'Clarke... don't you want to see your mother? Or Raven? Or... well, everyone?'

He saw a hint of pain flash across her guarded features. No, pain was the wrong word. He saw a flash of agony pass over her face. He could see that that wound hadn't healed. It had scabbed, but it remained, raw and painful as ever. He wondered what she would think of Jasper. Of Octavia. Of Raven. He had crossed a line and he knew it. 

'It's this way.'

Montry broke the boiling pause as he started to move back towards the Jeep. Clarke continued to look at him for a few more seconds, before storming off after Monty. Bellamy looked at Kane. Roan and Indra moved off, focussed only on the withdrawing blonde. Moving up beside Kane, Bellamy watched as Clarke moved away.

'She's burning. She won't face what she has done, but it is eating at her'

'It's worse than you know. She is in agony. When I suggested she come back to camp she almost had a breakdown. She is avoiding. She is directing herself entirely at another challenge. I don't know what, but she is side lining all of that pain, and soon, it's going to crush her. We've got to help her.'

Even as Bellamy started to move though, Kane caught his arm. 

'No. She cannot be helped until she is willing to fight for herself. She cares little for such an act at present. We have to let her be, until she's ready.'

Bellamy was about to argue, but Kane shook his head.

'We'll do all that we can, but for now, we must just watch, and be there to catch her when she falls. Lead on.'

Stiffening, Bellamy gave a curt nod, and moved, making straight for the Jeep.

\---

Octavia had just finished grooming Helios when she saw the Jeep drive back in through the gates. As her brother emerged, she rushed up to him, grappling him in an embrace.

'Where the hell have you been?'

Then, she saw the look in his eye. She knew it. She had started calling it the Clarke look ever since she'd returned to the camp the first time. However, before she could question him about it, Gina appeared, as if by magic, at her side. Grabbing him, and pulling him in close, she held him tightly. After a brief pause, he returned the hug. Upon releasing him, she slapped him.

'I support the previous statement.'

Octavia smiled. Gina was definitely a keeper. It was Kane who answered their question first, however.

'He's been helping me with council business.'

Octavia gritted her teeth at that, and then spat back.

'You mean Clarke business.'

Everyone nearby went deathly quiet. All eyes were on Bellamy. He nodded gently. Octavia felt a mixture of disgust, anger, contempt and pain at the motion. Disgust and anger she felt for Clarke. She had done a terrible thing, but had run away from her demons. She had left Jasper and the others completely. She had taken everything from Jasper. In many ways, she wanted her back, just so Jasper could hate her rather than Monty. Contempt was all for Bellamy. Council business, and Clarke business. One of the two always ruled his life now. Even after she left him to take care of all of them, he would still come running back at the snap of her fingers. It was saddening and pathetic. And pain... Pain was for the lost. The lost people- Maya most of all. The lost bonds- her friendship with Clarke, her bond with her brother, her friendship with Jasper. The lost souls. Jasper most obviously, but Raven and Monty in their own ways. All broken things. 

Turning, she stormed away. She saw Bellamy start to follow her over her shoulder, but Kane put his hand on his shoulder and stopped him, whispering something in his ear. Bellamy stilled, and she felt the anger bloom renewed. The Council and Clarke. The two masters of her brother's soul, no matter what they did. The last thing she saw before disappearing into the mess hall was Bellamy and Kane walking up towards Medical.

**Author's Note:**

> As ever, please comment. I am seriously busy at the moment, but hopefully I will be able to update more regularly than I have been able to recently (read: in the last three months)


End file.
